Viewing aid with tracking system, and method of use

ABSTRACT

A viewing aid includes a camera, a viewing surface within a field of view of the camera, a memory, a display, and software programmed to track a tracking element within the field of view. Viewing material is placed on the viewing surface. The camera, viewing surface, and material all remain substantially stationary. The camera captures and stores an initial image of the material in the memory. The software then tracks the location of a tracking element within the field of view then maps the location to a portion of the initial image in memory using an X-Y coordinate system, and/or identifies character elements of the material adjacent the tracking element then maps the character elements to corresponding character elements of the initial image in memory. An enhanced image is then displayed on the display corresponding to the mapped portion of the initial image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/309,412, filed on Dec. 1, 2011, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,626,578. Priority to the foregoing prior patent application isexpressly claimed, and the disclosure of the prior application is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to viewing aids used to view images ofviewing material, particularly for users with impaired vision.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various viewing aids exist to provide improved viewing of material on aviewing surface within a target field of view. Many such aids allowthose with impaired vision to view printed materials (e.g., books andmagazines), digital displays (e.g., LCD, LED, or other monitors), andphotographs by creating magnified images of the material or images ofthe material with the color contrast and/or brightness changed. This maybe useful for people with difficulty in reading, due to blurred vision,macular degeneration, or other vision impairments.

Existing viewing aids typically include a camera, and a viewing surfacewithin a field of view of the camera. If the material remains at a fixedlocation on the viewing surface, then either the camera is movedrelative to the viewing surface (and material), or the viewing surface(and material) is moved relative to the camera. If the material restsfreely on the viewing surface, then the material itself may also bemoved relative to the camera (and viewing surface). In either case,successive images of the material captured by the camera are eitherprojected on a separate screen such as with CCTV systems, or on adisplay integrated with the camera.

For those viewing aids involving movement of the camera, the precisionrequired to position the camera to capture images of the targetportion(s) of the material may be difficult to achieve in manysituations. This may be especially so if the material is printedmaterial intended for reading, and even more so for those who havemacular degeneration and need the image to be enlarged, and/or thosewith motor skill impairments and/or difficulty with hand-eyecoordination. The same is true for those viewing aids involving movementof the viewing surface and/or material, as is done with X-Y tables.

Thus, it is desirable to have a viewing aid that allows enhanced viewingof material on a viewing surface, without requiring significant movementof the camera, viewing surface, or the material itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a viewing aid includes acamera, a viewing surface within a field of view of the camera andsubstantially fixed relative to the camera, a memory in datacommunication with the camera, and a display in data communication withthe memory. The camera is configured to capture an initial image of theviewing material on the viewing surface, and to store the initial imagein the memory.

In another aspect of the invention, software determines a location of atracking element (e.g., a finger, stylus, laser pointer, or otherpointer) within the field of view, by identifying X-Y coordinates of thelocation based on an X-Y reference frame associated with the field ofview. The software then maps the location to a corresponding portion ofthe initial image in memory, and displays on the display an enhancedimage corresponding to the mapped portion of the initial image. Inanother aspect of the invention, the software continuously tracks thetracking element to determine successive locations of the trackingelement within the field of view, then maps the successive locations tosuccessive corresponding portions of the initial image in memory, anddisplays on the display successive enhanced images corresponding to thesuccessive mapped portions of the initial image, thus providing anatural reading experience but with an enhanced image.

In another aspect of the invention, the software alternatively or inaddition identifies character elements (or other pattern elements) ofthe material adjacent the tracking element, maps the character elements(or other pattern elements) to corresponding character elements (orother pattern elements) of the initial image in memory, and displays onthe display an enhanced image corresponding to the mapped portion of theinitial image. In another aspect of the invention, the softwarecontinuously tracks the tracking element to determine successivecharacter elements (or other pattern elements) of the material adjacentsuccessive locations of the tracking element, then maps the successivecharacter elements (or other pattern elements) to correspondingcharacter elements (or other pattern elements) of the initial image inmemory, and displays on the display successive enhanced imagescorresponding to the successive mapped portions of the initial image,again providing a natural reading experience but with an enhanced image.

In this manner, enhanced images of the viewing material may be viewed ona display based on movement of a tracking element such as a finger or apointer, without requiring significant movement of the camera, viewingsurface, or the material itself. The viewing material is typicallyprinted material, such as books, magazines, newspapers, or photographs,but may also be stationary display media such as poster-boardpresentations, a chalkboard, a CD, DVD, stamps, currency, electronicdisplay media such as a television, computer screen, or cellular phonescreen, or even non-flat items such as a prescription medication bottle,or nutrition label. In fact, one application of the present invention isfor use to inspect mechanical (e.g., gears), biological (e.g. tissuesamples), electrical (e.g., CPU motherboard), or other components ormaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of embodiments are described in furtherdetail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a viewing aid inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an X-Y reference frame representing the field of view ofthe camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A shows a top view of viewing surface with viewing materialthereon, partially within a field of view of a camera, along with atracking element;

FIG. 3B shows a display displaying an enhanced image corresponding tothe section of the viewing material pointed to by the tracking elementin FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of the present invention;and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The description that follows relates to a viewing aid and its method ofuse. While the invention is well-suited for use by visually impairedpeople, the invention may also be used in other environments, such asclassrooms, auditoriums, and other large-scale viewing surfaces.

Turning first to FIG. 1, an exemplary viewing aid 10 generally includesa camera 12, a viewing surface 20 within a field of view 19 of thecamera 12 and substantially fixed relative to the camera 12, a memory 14in data communication with the camera 12, and a display 18 in datacommunication with the memory 14. The camera 12 is configured to capturean initial image of viewing material 21 on the viewing surface 20 and tostore the initial image in the memory 14. Software 16 is installed inthe memory 14 or another storage area, is controlled by a microprocessor22, and is programmed to cooperate with the camera 12, memory 14, anddisplay 18 to show enhanced images of the material 21 on the display 18,as will be more fully described herein.

The camera 12 may be any type of camera capable of cooperating with theother elements of the viewing aid 10. The camera 12 is configured tocapture an initial image of the material 21 on the viewing surface 20,and to store the initial image in the memory 14. This may beaccomplished by a manual trigger such as a button or switch, or by atimer, screen icon, keyboard entry, voice command, or other means. Theinitial image may be stored in the memory 14 using any conventionalmeans. The initial image should be stored as a high-resolution image ofthe viewing material 21, to the extent permitted by the camera 12 andassociated software.

In one embodiment, the software 16 stores the initial image in thememory 14 in a manner representing that portion of the viewing material21 on the viewing surface 20 within the field of view 19 of the camera12. In this embodiment, an X-Y reference frame 40 is used, and for everyX-Y coordinate of the viewing surface 20 within the field of view 19 ofthe camera 12, there is a corresponding portion of the memory 14representing that portion of the viewing material 21 at said X-Ycoordinate. For example, FIG. 2 shows the X-Y reference frame 40 as a5×5 grid, with a tracking element 24 positioned in cell X4-Y2. This is asimple example. The grid may be as complex as 1,000×1,000 or more. Oncethe initial image is stored in the memory 14, and the software 16determines the location of a tracking element 24 within the field ofview 19 by identifying X-Y coordinates of the location based on the X-Yreference frame 40 associated with the field of view 19, the locationcan be mapped to the corresponding portion of the initial image in thememory 14, and then an enhanced image corresponding to the mappedportion of the initial image can be displayed on display 18.

Enhancement typically will be enlargement, but other characteristics ofthe image may alternatively and/or additionally constitute enhancement,including light amplification or reduction, sharpening, thickening,color modification, font changes, audio corresponding to text orotherwise, and/or other individual character, word, or section emphasis,including language translation if coupled with suitable software. Oneform of enhancement may include OCR mapping, in which the text of aninitial image is converted into ASCII text or other text from a knowncharacter set (OCR-converted text), so as the displayed image ismagnified, there is no loss of resolution due to the simple scaling ofthe characters. This enhancement may be used for text only and/or fortext combined with pictures. In the latter case, the image layoutdisplayed should substantially match the layout of the initial image,i.e., the scaling of the text should coincide with scaling of thesurrounding pictures and other non-text portions of the image. Anotherenhancement is simply presenting the initial image on the display withno change at all.

In one embodiment, the software 16 identifies character elements of theviewing material 21 within the field of view 19 adjacent the trackingelement 24, then maps the character elements to corresponding characterelements of the initial image in the memory 14 by using patternrecognition or other suitable software such as well-known OCR software.In this manner, once the initial image is stored in the memory 14, andthe software 16 identifies character elements of the viewing materialadjacent the tracking element, those characters may be mapped tocorresponding character elements of the initial image in memory 14, andan enhanced image corresponding to the mapped portion of the initialimage can be displayed on the display 18.

The camera 12 may be any suitable camera, and may include adjustabilitycontrols 26 to adjust characteristics of images, such as one or more ofa zoom function, viewing in horizontal and vertical directions, lightingcontrols, and other features well-known in the art. A high-resolutioncamera having a wide pixel range from 1 megapixel (“MP”) to 50 MP isrecommended to allow for a wider and more precise range of magnificationoptions. For example, to allow display of an enhanced image up to about50×, the camera 12 should be a high-resolution camera so the initialimage can be magnified digitally without significant blurring.

In some embodiments, more than one camera 12 may be used for redundancyand/or for specific tasks. For example, one camera 12 might be used forcapturing the initial image of the viewing material 21, while a secondcamera might be used for tracking the tracking element 24 as furtherdescribed herein. With multiple cameras 12, the cameras would not haveto be identical in functionality or performance.

The camera 12 is typically fixed with respect to the viewing surface 20.That is, the camera 12 does not move relative to the viewing surface 20,nor does the viewing surface 20 move relative to the camera 12. This istypically a structural feature implemented by the manufacturer. However,this feature may also be implemented by the user for each specificapplication or series of applications. In the latter case, for example,the camera 12 and/or viewing surface 20 may be configured to be adjustedand then temporarily secured for a specific application.

The viewing material 21 is likewise not moved relative to the viewingsurface 20. Instead, the viewing material 21 is fixed to the viewingsurface 20, and a tracking element 24 is moved across the material 21 toindicate the desired portion(s) of the viewing material 21 for whichenhanced images are to be displayed on the display 18, as furtherdescribed herein. The concept of having a fixed camera 12, fixed viewingsurface 20, and fixed viewing material 21, is to allow a user toconcentrate on moving the tracking element 24 in a natural motion suchas when moving one's finger across a page being read, as opposed tohaving to move the camera 12, viewing surface 20, and/or viewingmaterial 21. Minor, insignificant movements (such as by vibrations,friction, misalignment, etc.) of the camera 12, viewing surface 20,and/or viewing material 21, may thus occur, and although such movementsshould be minimized, the camera 12, viewing surface 20, and viewingmaterial would still be considered fixed.

The camera 12 has a field of view 19, typically fixed due to the fixednature of the camera 12, but which may be variable or adjustablemechanically or otherwise. A particular field of view 19 should,however, be fixed once the initial image of the viewing material 21 iscaptured and stored into the memory 14. The field of view 19 may includeonly a portion of the viewing surface 20, or may include the entireviewing surface 20, and beyond (as seen in FIG. 1).

The viewing surface 20 is typically a substantially flat surface such asis used with X-Y tables, although as described herein the viewingsurface 20, unlike an X-Y table, remains substantially fixed relative tothe camera 12. The viewing surface 20 may also have gridlines,measurement ticks, or other markings identifying X-Y coordinates of theviewing field 19, and/or fasteners such as clips, clamps, guides, raisedor recessed borders, pins, ridges, detents, tabs, or other means fortemporarily securing the viewing material 21 thereto. The viewingmaterial 21 may extend beyond the field of view 19 of the camera 12, butonly the portions of the viewing material 21 within the field of view 19of the camera 12 will be captured by the camera 12 to create the initialimage to be stored in the memory 14.

The memory 14 is any suitable memory such as RAM or a hard drive, andmay be integrated with the viewing aid (as seen in FIG. 1), or otherwisein data communication with the camera 12 as is known in the art,including by wired connection or wireless connection, via closedcircuit, local network, or the Internet. The memory 14 and/ormicroprocessor 22 may be separate from the camera 12, such as in alaptop or personal computer, that communicates by a cable or wirelessdevice with the camera 12, or the memory 14 and/or microprocessor 22 maybe included in an external device coupled to the camera 12 or to anotherpart of the viewing aid 10 that communicates with the camera 12. Thememory 14 communicates with the camera 12, and is used to store initialimages of the viewing material 21, as may also be used to storeapplication and/or operating software to carry out the methods of thepresent invention as described herein. The memory 14 may have a widerange of storage capacity, e.g., from 1 gigabyte (“gb”) to 50 gb to 100gb or more. The memory 14 may store all of the images recorded in therecording and tracking phases for future reference, or may just storethe images in real-time as they are viewed by the camera 12.

The display 18 may be any display suitable of displaying an enhancedimage of the viewing material 21, in data communication with the memory14. Such displays may be liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LEDs, or othertechnology, flat panel or other, color or monochrome, etc., and may be astand-alone monitor display, a monitor display integrated and inhard-wired electrical communication with the viewing aid 10 (as seen inFIG. 1), or a separate display otherwise in data communication with thememory 14, including a hand-held display. A display 18 should beselected with resolution quality capable of exploiting the quality ofthe camera 12, and vice versa.

The display 18 is configured to receive and display images in the fieldof view 19 that are captured and/or recorded by the camera 12. Theimages communicated to the display 18 may originate from the software 16and/or from the camera 12. In one embodiment, the display 18 is capableof magnifying the initial image in the range of about1×-50×magnification, and preferably 3×-40×magnification. Themagnification can be up to 100× or more. In another embodiment, thedisplay 18 is a projector that projects the enhanced image onto anothermedium, such as a wall, a chalkboard, whiteboard, roll-up screen, orother similar viewing surface.

Different embodiments of the display 18 may also have varying viewingfeatures for modifying the enhanced image. Some displays 18 may beconfigured to be capable of changing the preview of the initial image asit will be recorded, for example, by changing the brightness and/or thecolor contrast. In such a case, if the camera 12 has the samecapabilities for adjusting the preview of the enhanced image, then theuser has the option of initially making adjustments through the camera12, and then later making further adjustments to the initial image shownon the display 18 before it is stored into the memory 14.

In FIG. 1, the display 18 is only one screen. In an alternativeembodiment, there may be two or more screens (not shown), in which afirst screen shows the image corresponding to the position trackingelement 24, and a second screen shows the enhanced image with thetracking element 24 as it is recorded by the camera 12. In thisembodiment, the display 18 may receive the image of the tracking element24 directly from the camera 12 as the camera 12 records the image, fromthe memory 14, or from the software 16.

In one embodiment, the camera 12 provides a preview of the initial imagebefore storing same to the memory 14. The camera 12 could include asmall camera display (not shown), similar to the displays viewed onpersonal digital cameras, wherein the camera display shows a preview ofthe image to be stored. In this manner, the user can use features of thecamera 12, e.g., a zoom function, to make adjustments to the previewedimage. As an example, the camera 12 may be capable of recording an imagehaving 12×12 inch dimensions, but the user may wish to capture an imagehaving only 8×8 inch dimensions. Based on the preview function, theimage may be adjusted to 8×8 inch dimensions prior to be stored in thememory 14. For this purpose, it is preferred the camera 12 has imageadjustment functions such as scaling capabilities to capture and recorda wide range of dimensions of the initial image, for example, an item assmall as a pocket reader or as large as a poster-board.

Alternatively or in addition, the camera 12 may communicate the imagepreview (including any adjustments) to the display 18, and the display18 would then show the image preview. The display 18 may haveadjustability controls 26 for optimizing the initial image, and suchadjustments may then be communicated from the display 18 to the camera12, such that the camera 12 records the initial image and anyadjustments made in previewing the image. It is also possible for boththe camera 12 and the display 18 to have adjustability controls 26, oradjustability controls may be in a separate unit that communicates withthe camera 12 and/or the display 18.

In yet another embodiment, the components of the viewing aid 10 areintegrated in a head-mounted device (not shown) wherein the display 18is positioned in the user's field of vision, and the other components ofthe viewing aid 10 are positioned on the device on the user's head. Inthis embodiment, the display 18 may include a mask or goggle-typeconfiguration for direct viewing by the user.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a method of use of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to a flowchart. The viewing aid as describedherein is used to carry out this method. The method begins at Step 400.For practical purposes, the method is broken down into the recordingphase (Steps 410-420), and the tracking phase (Steps 430-450).

Before or during the recording phase, however, an X-Y reference frame isestablished for the viewing surface. The X-Y frame may be pre-calibratedfor the particular viewing aid, e.g., if the camera and viewing surfaceare permanently fixed. In other embodiments, the X-Y reference frame maybe set for each use. An example of setting the X-Y reference frame mayinclude adjusting the camera and/or viewing surface (if adjustable) fora desired use, locking them in place, then actuating a control mechanismfor the camera to calculate its field of view and establish an X-Yreference frame within the field of view. Another example may be to lockthe camera and viewing surface in place (if not already fixed), thenplace a pointer or actuate a button at one of several known fixedlocations on the viewing surface, such that the viewing aid could thencalibrate itself through a succession of such actuations. This methodmay be controlled by interactive software, or may be automated. Thespecific manner of calibrating and/or establishing the X-Y referenceframe is not critical. Rather, what is important to this embodiment isthat the relevant components of the viewing aid are able to accomplishthe desired result by determining the location of the tracking elementwithin the field of view based on a known X-Y reference frame mappedonto the viewing surface for the particular application.

At Step 410, the camera captures an initial image of the viewingmaterial on the viewing surface, as described herein. This is typicallydone by the user activating the camera. The image may be previewed andedited as described herein. Once the initial image is in a desired form(which may including scaling), the camera communicates with the memoryto store the image in the memory at Step 420, in a manner such that eachX-Y coordinate of the viewing surface may be mapped to a correspondingportion of the image. This ends the recording phase.

The tracking phase then begins at Step 430, at which the softwaredetermines a location of the tracking element within the field of viewby identifying X-Y coordinates of the location based on the X-Yreference frame associated with the field of view. For example, thecamera may transmit to the software an image or series of images of thetracking element within the field of view, and the software may focus onthe tip of the tracking element and calculate where that tip is withinthe known X-Y reference frame. Referring to FIG. 2, for example, thesoftware could determine that the position of the tracking element 24within the X-Y reference frame is X4-Y2. At step 440, the software thenmaps the X-Y location to the corresponding X-Y portion of the initialimage in memory. At Step 450, that portion of the image from the memory,corresponding to the mapped portion of the initial image, is thendisplayed on the display as an enhanced image, e.g., enlarged. The userthus is able to view an enhanced image of the viewing material on thedisplay, simply by moving the tracking element across the viewingmaterial within the field of view.

The method could then end at Step 460. However, as previously described,in another aspect of the invention the software continuously tracks thetracking element to determine successive locations of the trackingelement within the field of view, then maps the successive locations tosuccessive corresponding portions of the initial image in memory, anddisplays on the display successive enhanced images corresponding to thesuccessive mapped portions of the initial image, thus providing anatural reading experience but with an enhanced image. This isillustrated in FIG. 4 by the loop beginning at Step 455 and returningthrough Steps 430, 440, and 450, until the tracking element remainsstationary or is withdrawn from the field of view.

Thus, after Step 450 when the first enhanced image is displayed, thesoftware determines at Step 455 if the tracking element has been movedwithin the field of view. If the tracking element has not been movedwithin the field of view, then it has either remained at substantiallythe same location as was determined at Step 430, or it has been removedfrom the field of view altogether. In either of those cases, the methodends at Step 460 as indicated by the N branch off of Step 455. Of coursethose two situations may also be treated differently. For example, thesoftware could be programmed such that if the tracking element remainedat substantially the same location as was determined at Step 430, thedisplay of the enhanced image from Step 450 could be maintained, whereasif the tracking element has been removed from the field of viewaltogether, the enhanced image could be removed from the display.

Referring back to Step 455, if the tracking element has been movedwithin the field of view, the method cycles back to Step 430 asindicated by the Y branch off of Step 455. The software may make thisdetermination as to whether the tracking element has been moved, bycomparing the previously-determined location of the tracking element tothe newly-determined location. The loop from Steps 430-455 may beperformed numerous times during a single application. The faster thisoccurs, the smoother the display of the enhanced images will appear. Inother words, the frames per second of displaying the enhanced imageswill likewise increase, thus producing a smoother view of successiveimages.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an alternative method of the present inventionwill be described with reference to another flowchart. The basic flow issimilar to that shown in FIG. 4, but in this alternative method, insteadof determining the location of the tracking element and mapping thatlocation to the image in memory, character or pattern recognition isused to map to the image in memory.

Again, the viewing aid as described herein is used to carry out thismethod. The method begins at Step 500, and is broken down into therecording phase (Steps 510-520), and the tracking phase (Steps 530-550).At Step 510, the camera captures an initial image of the viewingmaterial on the viewing surface, as described with reference to FIG. 4.The image may be previewed and edited as described herein. Once theinitial image is in a desired form (which may including scaling), thecamera communicates with the memory to store the image in the memory atStep 520, in a manner such that various patterns (e.g., text) may beidentified. Any suitable Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or patternrecognition software may be used. This ends the recording phase.

The tracking phase then begins at Step 530, at which the softwareidentifies character elements of the viewing material within the fieldof view adjacent the tracking element. Again, any suitable OCR or otherpattern recognition software may be used. At Step 540 the software mapsthe character elements to corresponding character elements of theinitial image in the memory, and then at Step 550 displays on thedisplay an enhanced image corresponding to the mapped portion of theinitial image. The user thus is able to view an enhanced image of theviewing material on the display, simply by moving the tracking elementacross the viewing material within the field of view.

As an illustrative example, refer to FIGS. 3A-3B. FIG. 3A shows viewingmaterial 21 on a viewing surface 20 within a field of view 19 of acamera (not shown). The viewing material comprises text 23. A trackingelement 24 is shown pointing to a tracked area 27 of the text 23 thatincludes the characters “Unlock'd for joy” on one line and “I honourmost.” on the next line. In this instance, the software (such as OCRsoftware) identifies those characters or a portion thereof in thevicinity of the tracking element 24, and is able to map that text(and/or associated surrounding patterns, including blank space) to theinitial image stored in the memory. The software then communicates thatportion of the initial image to the display, where the image is shown asan enhanced image, such as an enlarged image, as seen in FIG. 3B. Thisexample illustrates a simple text recognition, and FIG. 3B shows onlythe text immediately adjacent the tracking element 24 for simplicity.But sophisticated OCR/pattern recognition software may be used as well,and the tracked area 27 may be larger or smaller than shown in theexample illustrated by FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. The tracked area 27 may alsohave different dimensions and/or shapes, fixed or customizable, and theenhanced image may be displayed in a virtual window taking on suchvarious dimensions and/or shapes. In this manner, an entertainmentelement is added to the viewing experience, because, for example, thevirtual viewing window on the display 24 may be ovoid, circular,star-shaped, etc., and/or may be framed within artwork such as a cartooncharacter's head, company logo, etc.

As with the method described with respect to FIG. 4, this method couldend at Step 560. But the software may continuously track the trackingelement to determine successive character elements of the viewingmaterial within the field of view adjacent successive locations of thetracking element, perform OCR/pattern recognition at each successivelocation, map the successive character elements to correspondingcharacter elements of the initial image in memory, and display on thedisplay successive enhanced images corresponding to the successivemapped portions of the initial image. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 bythe loop beginning at Step 555 and returning through Steps 530, 540, and550, until the tracking element remains stationary or is withdrawn fromthe field of view.

Thus, after Step 550 when the first enhanced image is displayed, thesoftware determines at Step 555 if the tracking element has been movedwithin the field of view. If the tracking element has not been movedwithin the field of view, then it has either remained at substantiallythe same location as was determined at Step 530, or it has been removedfrom the field of view altogether. In either of those cases, the methodends at Step 560 as indicated by the N branch off of Step 555. Those twosituations may also be treated differently as described with respect toFIG. 4. And similar to the method described with reference to FIG. 4,referring back to Step 555, if the tracking element has been movedwithin the field of view, the method cycles back to Step 530 asindicated by the Y branch off of Step 555. The loop from Steps 530-555may be performed numerous times during a single application.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be understood that it is not intended to limitthe present inventions to the preferred embodiments, and it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention. Thus, the present invention is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents, which may be includedwithin the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A viewing aid comprising: a camera; a viewingsurface within a field of view of the camera, and substantially fixedrelative to the camera; a memory in data communication with the camera;and a display in data communication with the memory; wherein the camerais configured to capture an initial image of viewing material on theviewing surface and to store the initial image in the memory; theviewing aid further comprising software configured to program theviewing aid to perform a process comprising: 1) determine a firstlocation of a tracking element within the field of view by identifyingX-Y coordinates of the first location based on an X-Y reference frameassociated with the field of view; 2) map the location to acorresponding first mapped portion of the initial image in the memorywhich is less than the full initial image; 3) display on the display afirst enhanced image generated from the initial image stored in thememory, the first enhanced image corresponding only to the first mappedportion of the initial image; 4) continuously track a motion of thetracking element within the field of view using the camera; and 5) panthe initial image to display on the display successive enhanced imagesgenerated from the initial image stored in the memory based on thetracked motion of the tracking element.
 2. The viewing aid of claim 1,wherein the camera has a fixed field of view.
 3. The viewing aid ofclaim 2, wherein the successive enhanced images comprise OCR-convertedtext from the initial image.
 4. The viewing aid of claim 1, wherein thesuccessive enhanced images comprise OCR-converted text from thesuccessive mapped portions of the initial image.
 5. The viewing aid ofclaim 1, further comprising adjustability controls configured to adjustcharacteristics of the first enhanced image.
 6. A viewing aidcomprising: a camera; a viewing surface within a field of view of thecamera, and substantially fixed relative to the camera; a memory in datacommunication with the camera; and a display in data communication withthe memory; wherein the camera is configured to capture an initial imageof viewing material on the viewing surface and to store the initialimage in the memory; the viewing aid further comprising softwareconfigured to program the viewing aid to perform a processcomprising: 1) identify character elements of the viewing materialwithin the field of view adjacent a tracking element in a firstlocation; 2) map the character elements to corresponding characterelements of the initial image in the memory to determine a first mappedportion of the initial image corresponding to a portion of the viewingmaterial adjacent the tracking element in which the first mapped portionis less than the full initial image; 3) display on the display a firstenhanced image generated from the initial image and corresponding onlyto the first mapped portion of the initial image; 4) identify successivecharacter elements of the viewing material within the field of viewadjacent the tracking element in successive locations different than thefirst location; 5) map the successive character elements tocorresponding character elements of the initial image in the memory todetermine successive mapped portions of the initial image correspondingto a portion of the viewing material adjacent the successive location inwhich the successive mapped portions are less than the full initialimage; 6) pan the initial image to display on the display successiveenhanced images generated from the initial image stored in the memorycorresponding to the successive mapped portions.
 7. The viewing aid ofclaim 6, wherein the enhanced images comprise a magnification of theinitial image.
 8. The viewing aid of claim 6, wherein the successiveenhanced images comprise OCR-converted text from the successive mappedportions of the initial image.
 9. The viewing aid of claim 6, whereinthe first enhanced image comprises OCR-converted text from the initialimage.
 10. The viewing aid of claim 6, further comprising adjustabilitycontrols configured to adjust characteristics of the enhanced image. 11.A method of viewing an image, using a viewing aid comprising a camera, aviewing surface within a field of view of the camera and substantiallyfixed relative to the camera, a memory in data communication with thecamera, and a display in data communication with the memory, the methodcomprising: capturing, with the camera, an initial image of viewingmaterial on the viewing surface; storing the initial image of thematerial in the memory; determining a first location of a trackingelement within the field of view by identifying X-Y coordinates of thefirst location based on an X-Y reference frame associated with the fieldof view; mapping the location to a corresponding first mapped portion ofthe initial image in the memory which is less than the full initialimage; displaying on the display a first enhanced image generated fromthe initial image stored in the memory, the first enhanced imagecorresponding only to the first mapped portion of the initial image;continuously tracking a motion of the tracking element within the fieldof view using the camera; and panning the initial image to display onthe display successive enhanced images generated from the initial imagestored in the memory based on the tracked motion of the trackingelement.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the camera has a fixedfield of view.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein displaying thesuccessive enhanced images on the display comprises displayingOCR-converted text from the successive mapped portions of the initialimage.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein displaying the successiveenhanced images on the display comprises displaying OCR-converted textfrom the initial image.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprisingusing adjustability controls to adjust characteristics of the enhancedimage.
 16. A method of viewing an image, using a viewing aid comprisinga camera, a viewing surface within a field of view of the camera andsubstantially fixed relative to the camera, a memory in datacommunication with the camera, and a display in data communication withthe memory, the method comprising: capturing, with the camera, aninitial image of viewing material on the viewing surface; storing theinitial image of the material in the memory; identifying characterelements of the viewing material within the field of view adjacent atracking element in a first location; mapping the character elements tocorresponding character elements of the initial image in the memory todetermine a first mapped portion of the initial image corresponding to aportion of the viewing material adjacent the tracking element in whichthe first mapped portion is less than the full initial image; displayingon the display a first enhanced image generated from the initial imageand corresponding only to the first mapped portion of the initial image;identifying successive character elements of the viewing material withinthe field of view adjacent the tracking element in successive locationsdifferent than the first location; mapping the successive characterelements to corresponding character elements of the initial image in thememory to determine successive mapped portions of the initial imagecorresponding to a portion of the viewing material adjacent thesuccessive location in which the successive mapped portions are lessthan the full initial image; and panning the initial image to display onthe display successive enhanced images generated from the initial imagestored in the memory corresponding to the successive mapped portions.17. The method of claim 16, wherein the enhanced images comprise amagnification of the initial image.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereindisplaying the successive enhanced images on the display comprisesdisplaying OCR-converted text from the successive mapped portions of theinitial image.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying theenhanced images on the display comprises displaying OCR-converted textfrom the initial image.
 20. The method of claim 16, further comprisingusing adjustability controls to adjust characteristics of the enhancedimage.